HOUSTON WE ARE A GO!!

Hello friends,

Let me start with an apology on the extreme overdue-ness of this update! We are approved to launch! We leave Muncie on 9/21 (in one week) and fly out of Houston to Costa Rica on 9/25 (that following Friday). WOOOOOHOOOOO!!!!! We are so excited! There will be a farewell party at MAC on Saturday 9/19, please come and join us if you are able!

One third of our monthly budget will be coming from my continuing work with Odle. Our sending organization, Inca Link, is concerned about losing that steady income. They want us in health spiritually, mentally, and physically. They have approved our launch with the requirement that we continue to raise support through the end of the year. So if you know anyone who might be interested in supporting us, please send them our way. Give us their contact details and we will reach out, or give them ours, share this email. The reality is that now, we have committed to a life of blatantly relying on the Lord for our finances and seeking his leading in connecting with those that he has lead to invest through our ministry. 

Our first two months in country will be immersed at language school. We will be two hours (46 miles) from our team in a small town where we will learn to speak the language and embrace the culture. It’s located on the coffee farm that we toured in March. Chaz is hoping for an opportunity to roast and learn local notes while we are there. I am so excited to be in Costa Rica and sit with Jesus as we talk about his heart for the youth living there. Pray that we have “eyes and ears squinting” to catch what the Lord is doing. Many of you know how we have connected with youth over the years. I expect it to be quite similar in this new context. 

We have been so fortunate all our years in Muncie as God has provided family, community, and incredible support. Currently, one of the greatest blessings God has provided us is temporary housing. Matt & Sue Godfrey have been so generous to give us run of their guesthouse. It has been so easy, comfortable, restful, and fun to be in this space and doing life with those two. God is so good!

Pray for our children and their families. Pray for God’s perfect will in their lives. Pray for our friends and family who are joyfully, lovingly sending us. We will pray for all of you to hear his voice, be filled with his spirit, and walk with Jesus.

Follow-up of Conviction:

Father, forgive me for not giving you the glory you deserve.

The Spirit convicted me this evening that I portrayed my work income as the catalyst to receiving the green light to launch. That couldn’t be farther from the truth. 

Here’s what really happened. 

On Friday someone asked how much we still need to be able to go and I shared a close approximate number. 

On Saturday I received a text saying I don’t know if you get notifications about this, but I think you’re fully funded. We were stunned! Their pledge put us so very close to our monthly goal. 

On Sunday I shared that we were now just this small amount away from 100%. 

An hour later, someone who had heard me share that, set up funding for 3x the amount I had stated!!! We had been feeling like everything was tumbling into place just recently and here was God showing off! Close to $500 just showed up in 24hrs!!!

I’m so grateful for His confirmation that we hadn’t missed it, we weren’t doing fundraising wrong. He was leading us and showing us who to talk to and how to pray. Thank you Lord, you are the only reason we are able to do what you have invited us into.